With your 1:1 meeting coming up, you might be wondering what to expect. We’ve got you covered.
1: Remember: it’s all about you
A 1:1 isn’t a job interview – you’ve already got the job! The 1:1 is there to help us to understand what you do, how you fit in, and to discuss any special needs or requirements you might have. You won’t “pass” or “fail”, so don’t worry about it.
You’ll be meeting people from ISS who do a LOT of these meetings, and we want you to have the most effective and useful time possible.
If you haven’t done so already, check out www.welcome-to-ISS.com/defra to give you answers to some of the most commonly-asked questions about your new company.
2: Get your papers together.
One of the things we’ll have to do at your 1:1 is establish your right to work in the UK. If you were born in the UK, your passport is the best document to use. But there’s a lot of other ways to do it – see the Government advice here.
Whatever you use, remember to bring it with you to your 1:1 meeting. If you need to apply for a document other than your passport you might need to leave some time for it to arrive, so don’t leave it until the last minute!
3: Think about what your job actually involves.
Check your most recent job description, and think about what your job is meant to be. But also think about what you actually do, and if there’s a difference. You won’t be the first person who tells us they do something completely different to what their job description says! But this is the time to talk about that, because it might mean your job description needs to change to reflect what your actual day-to-day work; or it might mean there’s a resource need in your workplace that you are having to cover. Whatever the case, we need to know.
4: Think about what you want to be doing.
At ISS, we want you to have the career you want. That might mean you’re happy with five hours a week, or it might mean you’re aiming for the CEO’s desk! Whatever, we want to support you. We know that everyone’s ambitions are different, and we completely understand if you’re content where you are. But if you are looking to develop a career further up the management tree, then your 1:1 is a great place to start talking about that. We’re always looking for good people to join us at all levels, and experience of front-line working will stand you in good stead as you progress.
5: Tell us what you need.
If you’ve got an arrangement with your current employer that lets you take some time off for family or medical reasons, or something similar, then the 1:1 is the time to bring that up. We need to know what your working patterns are, along with any personal circumstances you may be managing which will have an effect on those patterns. Our colleagues work a huge variety of ways to enable them to combine work with their personal lives, so whatever your circumstances, we’ve almost certainly seen them before, and we’ll work with you to find something that suits both us and you.
This is especially important if you have a disability or some other condition which needs special adaptations to enable you to work at your best. In most cases, any existing arrangements will carry across, but if there’s something newer or better which might help you, let us know.
6: Think about the real you.
Our commitment to inclusion at all levels of our business is important to us at ISS. We’ve set up Employee Representation Groups (ERGs) to cover key areas of representation:
Generations and Age
Cultures, Race and Ethnicity
Pride (LGBTQI+)
Abilities (disabilities seen or unseen)
Gender Balance
Joint Forces (former service personnel)
We want our colleagues to be able to bring their whole selves to work, so think about that before your 1:1. You might feel a connection to one of these groups, more than one, or none at all. Either way, ISS is a place where you can be the real you.
On top of that, do you have any talents that aren’t being used? Perhaps you’ve been studying coding in your spare time, or you’re an expert in a foreign language? Tell us! We might not be able to find a way to use it right now, but who knows?
7: Come up with some questions, and be ready to ask them!
If you’ve done all of this, you should hopefully have a long list of questions to ask at your 1:1. It’s important that you ask as many questions as you need to. Don’t rely on your memory: bring a written list, and take as many notes as you want.
8: Remember this is a two-way process
If there are any parts of the process you aren’t sure about, use the 1:1 to ask the questions which will enable you to make an informed choice. You aren’t obliged to join ISS under the TUPE process. We very much hope you will, but you might decide that this is the time to move on.
9: The end of the 1:1 isn’t the end of the discussion
When you finish the 1:1, we’ll keep talking. If you think of questions after the 1:1, or you need to follow up on any point you talked about in the 1:1, make sure you go back to the ISS representative or your line manager and clarify it.
10: Try to enjoy it, and stay positive!
As we said at the start, the 1:1 isn’t an interview. We know that the process of changing contracts can feel pretty scary, but we want to welcome you to ISS, and hope you’ll have a long and productive career with us. So please go into the 1:1 with that in mind, and hopefully it’ll be a pleasant and productive experience!